I googled my home phone number and it came back with my name,
address and phone listed under an area I live near. Not wanting my info
on the web, I contacted the directory listing service it appeared under
and according to them the phone company sold them my private
information. And, there's really nothing they could do. Isn't there any
law to protect us against selling private information?

Then we need to understand whether or not you gave the utility
company implicit permission to sell your information. I'm guessing you
did.

And you're not alone.

•

Are you listed in your local phone directory?

If so, the information you allow to be printed there is publicly
available, both in that physical phone directory and wherever the phone
company chooses to reprint it. And that includes online.

"Are you listed in your local phone directory?"

With most search engines now indexing most on-line phone
directories, it's not at all unusual for a search on your information
to return that information from such a directory.

And as you've seen, once you're in one directory, the phone
companies often sell that information to other directory services who
also publish their information online. So now, as the result of a)
having a phone, and b) being listed in a phone book, you now might well
appear in multiple places on the internet.

Why is this so scary to people? I mean, you were in the phone book
that anyone could pick up - why is this so different?

Two reasons I can think of:

Phone books are (typically) local in reach. Meaning that it's
difficult (though not impossible) to access a phone book from one
region while you're in another. Getting a New York City phone book in
Lagos, Nigeria is much more difficult than getting one in New York City
itself.

Phone books are difficult to search. They're organized to be
searched by name, period. The internet, on the other hand, can be
searched any number of ways, including by name, by address and of
course by phone number. From anywhere on the planet.

So while the publicity of information hasn't really changed, the
ease with which it can be used has changed dramatically, and
that's kinda scary.

Is it legal?

I Am Not A Lawyer

With that out of the way, I'll guess yes - at least if your phone
number isn't "unlisted".

When you got your phone in part of the paperwork you likely agreed
to have your phone number published in the phone book. So your phone
company got your permission to put it in their books, and on their web
directory.

You likely also agreed to their privacy policy, which again likely
included their right to resell your information.

You don't remember that? Neither do I. But if you look at the
paperwork, or the privacy policy reminder you may get from time to
time, I'm betting its spelled out in there.

And if you're fortunate, also in there will be the steps required to
"opt out".

But there's a problem with opting out at this point: it's too late.
Your information is already out there. Even if you were able to remove
it from one directory or another, it's still out there in
who-knows-how-many others, and in archives and other locations. There's
simply no way to pull it back from all the places it could be.

If this really is an issue for you, then I have only one suggestion:
change your phone number, and make it unlisted from the start. An
unlisted number shouldn't be showing up in random directories all over
the internet.

And much like your email address, make sure you take care when
providing your phone number online. If you post it in a public forum,
for example, you may well find that post - and a trail back to you - in
a search engine someday.

Leo A. Notenboom has been playing with computers since he
was required to take a programming class in 1976. An 18 year career as a programmer at Microsoft soon followed.
After "retiring" in 2001, Leo started Ask Leo! in 2003 as a place for answers
to common computer and technical questions. More about Leo.

It's somewhat water under the bridge if you're already listed, but, consider this next time you have the opportunity to list your name.

I am listed in the phone book..but not by my name. I did not wish my name to be IN the book, but also didn't think I should have to PAY for that (for an unlisted number). Besides, anyone calling information for my locale with my real name would hear, 'That is an unlisted number.' Bingo! Someone knows I DO live there.

Also, anyone calling my home phone and asking to speak with the listed person's name is someone I KNOW I don't need to talk to.

I have been told by some phone companies that I cannot do that. I simply tell them, 'Yes. I can.'

So...google MY phone number. You WILL get my address...but it won't be ME.

Claude Holloway
March 24, 2009 1:42 PM

I'm guessing you may have done this on purpose...Two of the three ads at the top of your reply to this individual contradict what you stated in your article. These two ads are for services to give us access to unpublished, and yes, even unlisted phone numbers. I have to assume changing your phone number and having your new one unlisted may not keep you out of public domain. Also, many, if not all, phone companies charge a MONTYLY fee for having your number unlisted. As Shawn suggests, I'm for letting the phone companies and others publish it incorrectly.

To be clear, I don't choose the ads, so what shows up isn't "on purpose". Google provides the ads, and they pick what to display based on the topic being discussed on the page.

- Leo25-Mar-2009

Mark B
March 25, 2009 5:56 AM

If you just set your phone to reject anonymous callers, you'll eliminate 99% of all unwanted calls (most of them don't want you calling them back, so they block their own caller id!). As for not listing your own number -- don't you have any old friends who've lost touch?

Cecil
March 28, 2009 4:17 AM

One does not need their address published. When I moved over 20 years ago, I change my phone number and instructed the phone company to keep my address private. Unlike an unlisted phone number, there was no charge for keeping just the address private. My long lost friends can find my name and number, but they needed to call to find my address. However, in today's internet world, someone has published my phone number with my address. I assume they did some cross referencing with other records. They do list 3 other addresses for me as well. The other addresses were previously used by me or another family member.

Sally O'Rielly
January 1, 2011 6:55 PM

Another new phone book arrived recently which lists phone numbers in the county. My mother who was recently widowed appears in the listings by her first name not my Dad's. She has never been listed this way. I started checking and found many other widows in our town listed by their first names who were not before. Can the company who put out this book legally change the way people are listed? I'm not sure where they got the information. I'm afraid that it puts these women out there as targets for scam artists and other predators who will now know they are most likely single and may be living alone. I'm planning on calling the company on Monday, but wondered if this practice is legal. Thanks

I'm not a lawyer and can't tell you what is or is not legal. But I'd expect it to be OK that they do that, unless you specifically request and pay for an unlisted number.

02-Jan-2011

Tami Tuttle
November 13, 2011 7:06 AM

I don't get it. I changed my phone number and told the phne company I wanted it unlisted, and the next day I got a call from the person that I changed my number from!! I called the phone company and they lied to me,something about going thru a cycle, bull. What am I paying for? That can't be legal for them to collect for something your not receiving, there's got to be something we can do?

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